# Seriously. A pulse gun made in momma's basement... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911 "2011-12-12T15:03:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/21 "2011-12-13T17:39:06Z")
The linked weapon just isn’t as good as a 1920’s style pulse gun. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/22 "2011-12-14T02:28:25Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Yes but as soon as we apply a field, we couple to a state, it is radiatively coupled to the ground state. I figure we can extract at least ten to the twenty-first photons per cubic centimeter which will give one kilojoule per cubic centimeter at 600 nanometers, or, one megajoule per liter. What would you use that for? Making an armored Swiss cheese! Stranger ---
**Author:** ![that\_darn\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/59ef9b/32.png) [@that\_darn\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/that_darn_cat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/23 "2011-12-14T02:37:36Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Yes but as soon as we apply a field, we couple to a state, it is radiatively coupled to the ground state. I figure we can extract at least ten to the twenty-first photons per cubic centimeter which will give one kilojoule per cubic centimeter at 600 nanometers, or, one megajoule per liter. Simply put, it’s like lazing a stick of dynamite. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/24 "2011-12-14T05:34:57Z")
Where do I load the tibanna gas cartridge? ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/25 "2011-12-14T08:11:13Z")
If you’re dead-set on using energy weapons to pop balloons, there are easier ways. DIY designs for [burning laser pointers](http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Flashlight-Hack!!/) have been available for quite a while now. Just don’t get it mixed up with the one you use for presentations, as the boss probably won’t appreciate it when you set the screen on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/26 "2011-12-14T13:17:53Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > I think what the OP may be getting at is, what if you had more capacitors and were only expecting to get 10 shots. Would 500 joules be a more effective? > > Muzzle energy of an average 9mm bullet is 519 joules. I’m assuming this may not be a very good apples to apples comparison, but help us non physics folk out a bit. It’s not about physics, it’s about weapon design. Your weapon needs to disable a target. That target can be a person, a tank, a ballistic missile, whatever. Each of these targets is armored in some way, skin muscle and bone, steel/ceramic plates, etc. Your weapon has to get past that armor and have enough destructive power left to disable an important component, like a heart or the engine. Unlike a bullet, a laser has to vaporize and clear away all of the armor between the muzzle and the inner target. That takes a lot of energy, even with 100% transference to the target. It takes 2200J of energy to vaporize 1g of water, which will basically do nothing more than take out a nice chunk of skin. ---
**Author:** ![IntelliQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e99b99/32.png) [@IntelliQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IntelliQ)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/27 "2011-12-14T23:35:29Z")
Thank you everyone for putting the technical aspects in perspective, and of course - the humor. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/28 "2011-12-15T09:16:12Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Unlike a bullet, a laser has to vaporize and clear away all of the armor between the muzzle and the inner target. That takes a lot of energy, even with 100% transference to the target. It takes 2200J of energy to vaporize 1g of water, which will basically do nothing more than take out a nice chunk of skin. Instantly converting 1CC of water instantly depending on the diameter of the hole and depth of penetration would actually be kinda a bad thing. Maybe not drop you dead, but more like a nasty little crater from a small steam burst and attendant burns of the immediate surrounding area. IIRC 1cc of water = 1,700cc of steam at standard temperature/pressure. I sure as hell wouldnt want to be the test dummy. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/29 "2011-12-15T09:25:51Z")
Hey, just what you see, pal! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/30 "2011-12-15T17:44:13Z")
I may close early today. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/31 "2011-12-17T21:51:20Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Unlike a bullet, a laser has to vaporize and clear away all of the armor between the muzzle and the inner target. That takes a lot of energy, even with 100% transference to the target. It takes 2200J of energy to vaporize 1g of water, which will basically do nothing more than take out a nice chunk of skin. I imagine it would have a similar effect to touching someone with a lit welding torch. The thing is, the atvantage of any theoretical laser weapon is that it travels at the speed of light (effectively instantaneously at any combat distance) without any drop. If you can’t deliver bullet-like damage at least as far as rifle bullet distances, you don’t need a laser. ---
**Author:** ![enigmatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@enigmatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigmatic)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911/32 "2011-12-18T18:12:19Z")
This is one of those weird syncronicity things, I think. I’m just about to launch a blog with a lot of science resources for science fiction writers, basically going through different concepts and examining the technology from a narrative perspective, talking about weight, sound, visual effects, genre conventions, etc. One of the first articles I wrote - death rays 101 - the laser. My conclusion - the blinding thing is the really big problem. They are going to be big in air defence, and possibly terrorism, but they are useless as military sidearms. Back of the envelope calculations, but as I make it, a laser gun that puts out as much energy as a typical 9mm pistol bullet each _second_ (so probably still a shitty weapon), is going to be 1000 times over the level where the operator could damage his vision just by hitting a nearby, lightly coloured, _matte_ surface. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-a-pulse-gun-made-in-mommas-basement/605911.md?page=1)